The Approaches

There is no the best way to input and structure tasks suitably for all the users. Following the two approaches, are typical for use and are natural.

Inputting tasks one by one

Input the task name, date, work and all the other properties of one task, then to input for another task

Focus on one aspect of all the tasks at a time point

Prepare the list for all tasks –> Construct task tree –> Input the date of all the tasks -> Input resource for all the tasks –> Other aspects one by one

If you are very familiar with the project (for example, you have long experience of managing similar projects), the first approach may be suitable

We recommend to follow the second approach, as usually, it is more efficient and with less re-work

Prepare the task list (in mind, or by tool)

Input and lay out tasks to construct the tree structure

Link tasks if needed

Focus to input the date and duration of all the tasks together

And then other aspects (work, cost, etc.) one by one.

1. Prepare Task List

First, we need to know what tasks the project has to do. Input while thinking is a common way of working at the beginning of the project, however, based on the consideration of input efficiency while reducing modification, we prefer to recommend having a task list ready before input

In general, for small projects, it may be sufficient to have a task list in mind; for large projects or complex projects, it is better to use a tool to list tasks

Mindmap is the suitable tool for us to think what to do and to prepare the list. We can use it to prepare the task names in a tree structure, QuickPlan supports to open Mindmap file (in OPML format) to create a new project.

Of course, preparing the task list in an excel file, or in a plain text file, and even on a paper is also the way which is helpful

2. Organize tasks in a Tree

Input the tasks continuously, then change the task outline level to construct the tree structure, if needed, we can move the task up / down to adjust task sequence.

2.1 Construct Task Tree - Input the task names continuously

There is an option to control the default date of the new tasks - to specify if to keep the date of the new task be same as the previous task, or the start of the new task will be same as the finish of the previous task

2.2 Construct Task Tree - Change task outline level

Select a task

Mouse click on a task, or double-click the empty space in a task row on Gantt Chart

To be more efficient, we suggest to switch selecting task by keyboard shortcuts - “d” or “↓” key to select next task, “e” or “↑” key to select the previous task

Or click the "indent" and "outdent" toolbar buttons on the top of the updating panel

Or press the "indent" and "outdent" buttons on the Touch Bar

On the iOS devices, QuickPlan supports to change task outline level by "swift left/right" gestures, which are more intuitive and efficient. For this step (to adjust the outline level of all the project tasks), for some projects, our practice is to sync the project with iPad (or transfer to iPad), and complete this step on the iPad

2.3 Construct Task Tree - Adjust Task Sequence

We may need to adjust the task sequence in a task group or across multiple task groups

⌘ ↓(“Command” + “Down Arrow”) or ⇧ ↓("Shift" + “Down Arrow”) to move the selected task down in the same task group

⌘ ↑(“Command” + “Up Arrow”) or ⇧ ↑(“Shift” + “Up Arrow”) to move the selected task up in the same task group

⌘ Left Mouse Move Up/Down(“Command” + “Left Mouse Move-up / Move-down”) to move a task up/down in same group or across multiple groups

Specially on the Outline Panel, Left Mouse Move Up/Down(“Left Mouse Move-up / Move-down”) mouse move on the WBS column (no need to press ⌘ ) to move a task up/down in same group or across multiple groups

Or press the buttons on the Touch Bar

3. Link Tasks if needed

Click the “task link” button on the toolbar, then to follow the tips (which moves with the mouse) to link tasks

4. Adjust Task Date and Duration

QuickPlan for macOS provides various methods to change the task date and duration – please select the most efficient and suitable way for the situation. Familiarizing ourselves with these methods in advance will be of great help in improving our work efficiency

For example, how many methods to change the task start date? Below please check the methods

Edit the task "Start" column in Outline panel

Mouse gestures to change task date on Gantt Chart

Change start date on the Updating Panel

⇧ ←("Shift" + “Left Arrow”) to move the selected task to the previous day

⇧ →("Shift" + "Right Arrow”) to move the selected task to the next day

⇧^ ←("Shift" + "Ctrl" + “Left Arrow”) to increase task duration by one day if possible

⇧^ →("Shift" + "Ctrl" + "Right Arrow”) to increase task duration by one day if possible

⇧⌘ ←("Shift" + "Command" + "Left Arrow”) to move the selected task to be at the project start date

Copy / Paste task start cell

Select the "start" cell of a task, and change the start date via Touch Bar buttons

Skill to change the task start date efficiently. If the target date is close to the the current start date, tapping on touch bar will be much more quickly than selecting a new date using other common ways. For example to change the task start date to be two days later, just tap the “+ 1d” button on Touch Bar two times, if to change the task start date to be 11 days later, just tap the “+ 10d” and “+ 1d”.

And following operations will change teh start date indirectly.
- After project start date be changed, the start date of all the tasks will be changed
- After task group date be changed, the start date of all the tasks inner the group will be changed
- When predecessor finish date be changed, the start date of the successor may change

Then another question for you - using QuickPlan how many methods we can use to change the task duration? Click to check the anwser

QuickPlan does the best to provide as many methods of operation as possible, some of them are effecitive, someo of them are intuitive. There is no the best method for all the case, it's up to our experience and how familiar we are with using the operations.

To work efficiently, one fundamental principle is to "avoid keyboard inputting". We recommnd the high efficient input by "using mouse click or keyboard shortcut". QuickPlan provides the additional options to use selecting (simple one click) to replace keyboard input, even in the number input window. For example in duration input window, there are some buttons for us to change the duration quickly.

Skills for being productive

Switch the selected task by keyboard shortcuts - “d” or “↓” to select the next task, and "e” or “↑” to select the previous task

To adjust task date quickly, move the task group to the target date first, then use the keyboard shortcuts to change the start date of the sub tasks (⇧←, ⇧→), or use gesture on Gantt Chart to move taskbar.

Change task duration AFTER task start date be changed.

In comparison, most tasks have shorter cycles, the keyboard shortcut "⌘1…9" and "⌘⌥1…9" and duration buttons on the Touch Bar are very helpful to modify task duration efficiently

If a task has a date that is far from the start of the project, and we want to move the task to a date that is not far from the start of the project. "⇧⌘ ←" is a good start to move the task to be at project start date, and then use "⇧→" to the target date

When updating date and duration on the updating panel, we recommend to use one hand to change the selected tasks, and to use another hand to operate by mouse on the updating panel

In some cases, it can be very efficient to change the task date by copying it. For example, in a task group, some child tasks at beginning of Jan, some other tasks at beginning of Feb. We can move the task group to Jan 1, and change the start date of a task to Feb 1, then copy the cell (Feb 1) to other tasks which target date is at Feb, and with keyboard shortcut, we can get the work be done very quickly

Do not try moving task by long distance on Gantt Chart,
In this case, please change the task date in the Outline Panel and Updating Panel

Don’t try to scroll the Gantt Chart window horizontally with long distance to make a taskbar be visible,
Just to select the task, the Gantt Chart will scroll automatically to make the selected taskbar be visible(except clicking on the taskbar in Gantt chart, how to select a task? it's simple, just click a row on outline panel, or double-click on empty space of the task row on Gantt chart panel, or press arrow key to change task selection)

5. Then to focus on other aspects

Then switch to other aspects, such as resoruce, work, cost, using similar skills for the aspect of task date and duration. We suggest to take enough practices if need to be more efficient